BASKETBALL Hall of Famers Yao Ming and Allen Iverson were in action alongside legends from the world of golf during the World Celebrity Pro-Am golf tournament in Haikou, Hanan Province, on Saturday.

    Having taken lessons to prepare for his first full round of golf, former NBA star Iverson, who was playing with golf professional and fellow American John Daly, said: “Huge respect for the guys who play this game, you know what I mean. It’s such a hard game and I never knew how hard it was until today. It just gave me a whole new level of respect for the guys who play it.”

    Iverson admitted Yao is the better player on the golf course.

    “This is my first time. I can tell he has been playing,” Iverson said.

    “To be able to play something, I don’t care what it is, we could be playing cards or anything, I am a competitive guy. If I play something I want to be the best at it,” said Iverson.

    Meanwhile, former Liverpool and England soccer player Robbie Fowler was also in action at the official opening of the new Mission Hills Haikou Soccer Training Base and predicted it will not be long before the country is producing top-class soccer players.

    Fowler was joined by former Liverpool teammates Luis Garcia and Gary McAllister together with Manchester United legends Paul Scholes, Dwight Yorke, Lee Sharpe and David May.

    Having competed for the inaugural World Legends Cup alongside a selection of local players, the stars were unanimous in praising the new training facility and predicting a bright future for Chinese soccer.

    “I think football will definitely grow here,” said Fowler. “It’s a country of a billion people so there’s bound to be some great players out there. With the concept here at Mission Hills, building all the pitches and getting football teams here, it might not be long before we see real top-class Chinese players.”

    (SD-Agencies)